Ethiopian Diaspora Health and Education Sector Project



November 10, 2008

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Status of funds received and disbursed 3

Activities undertaken 4

1. Database 4

2. Joint Curriculum Review and Development 4

• Neurology: 4

• Infectious Diseases 4

• Internal Medicine: 4

• Review of Addis Ababa University’s strategic plan for 2007-2011: 5

3. Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop and Medical Students distance learning needs assessment 5

• Continuous Medical Education 5

4. Portal development 5

Results / Accomplishments 6

Suggestions for the way forward 6

Introduction

The overall objective of the Ethiopian Diaspora Health and Education professionals’ mobilization project is to help improve the accessibility and quality of information available to country practitioners through virtual engagement and interactions with counterpart Diaspora professionals in the health and education sectors. The project has been piloted for one year with financing from the Government of Italy-WBI Trust Fund. The project became effective under an Activity Agreement signed between WBI and the participating partners: Addis Ababa University (AAU) and People-to-People Inc.[1] in November 2007.

The engagement of the Diaspora with counterparts at AAU has been done by virtual means. Diaspora professionals involved are primarily physicians and academics who are accredited and practicing in North America, Europe, and other economies renowned for globally-accepted advances and standards in the sector-thematic areas. Home country participants are physicians, academics, medical interns (medical residents) and students at the AAU. The Faculty of Medicine and the Social Sciences was the target recipient of support. At the Faculty of Medicine, support was provided to strengthen service delivery capacity of the Telemedicine unit, and enhance post graduate training programs with an initial concentration on the Neurology department. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, support was provided to strengthen the graduate program at the School of Social Work.

Expected outputs of the project include: (a) database of committed Ethiopian Diaspora physicians and home country counterparts at Addis Ababa University created and participants engaged; (b) secure portal populated with relevant data (patient case histories, student dissertations, queries, expert opinions, diagnosis, treatment regimes prescribed, etc.) made available to practitioners and is used; (c) a virtual library for learning and joint service delivery among Diaspora and home country counterparts created; and (d) joint curriculum review and development.

The main results achieved under the project are:

• Improved internet connectivity at the three participating departments;

• Increased capacity for video and audio conference at BLH, which is the largest teaching hospital in Ethiopia;

• Joint curriculum development in three departments- neurology, infectious diseases, and internal medicine; and

• Increased interactions between the Diaspora professionals and counterparts including vigorous discussions of patient cases and joint consultations by email.

The following is an implementation completion report entailing status of funds received and disbursed; activities undertaken, results achieved, and suggestions for the way forward.

Status of funds received and disbursed

A total amount of US $145,000.00 was received under the trust fund and allocated as follows:

Addis Ababa University (AAU) - US$60,000 (shared equally among the three departments: Neurology, Telemedicine unit, and the School of Social Work as per the Activity Agreement).

People-to-People Inc. (P2P) – US$ 45,000.00

Short Term Consultants – US$ 40,000.00

At the end of the project on June 30, 2008, all funds were disbursed for undertaking the activities specified in the agreement. Fund disbursement ended in October 2008 as per the Trust Fund agreement.

Activities undertaken

1. Database

• Almost 200 Ethiopian Diaspora professionals living in the United States and Canada, and over 100 country-based professionals in varied fields have been contacted and enlisted to participate in the program. The detailed information on the participants compiled by People-to-People (P2P) and the local program coordinators at AAU are filed in a database hosted at WBI.

2. Joint Curriculum Review and Development

• Neurology: A comprehensive curriculum development of the graduate program in Neurology has been jointly undertaken by Diaspora professionals and country counterparts. As part of the process, P2P organized a visit for representatives of the World Federation of Neurologists Education committee. The mission visited teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa and held discussions with a number of health professionals including members of the Association for Neurological Sciences in Ethiopia (ANSE). A mission report has been submitted by P2P.

• Infectious Diseases: Curriculum review and development of the program in Infectious Diseases (ID) have been undertaken. Black Lion Hospital (BLH) is in the process of launching an ID fellowship program, and physicians in the Diaspora have been exchanging comments and suggestions with their counterparts at AAU/BLH to improve the program. A sample of the exchanges that took place is available in WBI files.

• Internal Medicine: In February 2008, a standing committee was established in the Internal Medicine department at BLH to work on curricula development. In an effort to support this initiative, a two weeks mission was organized by P2P for Dr. Abate Bane, Head of Department of Internal Medicine at Black Lion Hospital and Vice President of Ethiopian Medical Association. The purpose of the mission was to establish partnerships with various institutions in North America to assist in the review and development of curricula for a number of programs in Internal Medicine. Dr. Abate visited several universities and research centers including George Washington University, Howard University, National Institute for Health (NIH), Temple University in Philadelphia, and University of California, San Diego. Dr. Abate was very much encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response received from each institution visited.

• Review of Addis Ababa University’s strategic plan for 2007-2011: A group of 45 physicians in the diaspora, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and AAU were engaged in a process to finalize plans to improve the medical education and training program at Black Lion Hospital. The draft report prepared by the working group that was set up to compile specific suggestions and comments from participating physicians is available on record.

3. Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop and Medical Students distance learning needs assessment

• Continuous Medical Education (CME): The departments of Neurology, at Addis Ababa University and Mayo Clinic organized a three-day ToT workshop on "Neurology for non-Neurologist" from February 7-9 2008, at the AAU medical faculty's lecture hall. The conference was organized in association with Ethiopian Medical Association, Association of Neurological Sciences of Ethiopia, and under the auspices of the Diaspora Mobilization project. The 3-day workshop was attended by 190 participants, which included medical students, residents, nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists and non-health professionals.

• Representatives of P2P (Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, Dr. Kinfe Gebeyehu, and Dr. Mahila Zebenigus) met with Ethiopian Medical Students Association (EMSA) on February 11, to assess their needs for distance learning. In addition to introducing the objectives and expected outcomes of the Ethiopian Health and Education Diaspora project, members of P2P held discussions with students about various issues related to their educational experiences including the location, regularity and frequency of students’ access to the internet, and learned about their previous experiences with distance learning.

4. Portal development

• A multi-purpose web portal has been developed by the WBI multi-media team to facilitate various types of virtual interaction between practitioners in Ethiopia and the Diaspora. Among the features the secure platform provides are discussion forums, file sharing, and live communication tools (videoconference, etc.)

Results / Accomplishments

Details of some accomplishments are as follows:

• The Neurology department now has broadband internet connectivity, and the installation of network and data communication connection for the library has been completed.

• The Telemedicine unit has improved its low capacity internet connectivity at Black Lion Hospital by leasing certain parts required to utilize existing teleconference equipment, with both audio as well as video components. The existing telemedicine capacity which allowed connections between the Hospital and India has now been upgraded to support connections anywhere in the world where there is compatible technology. Furthermore, facility assessment was conducted in five out of the twenty regional hospitals where the Ministry of Health is considering introducing telemedicine and tele-education programs. A report of the assessment has been prepared by the AAU.

• The graduate program of the School of Social Work is currently in the process of moving from a rental building off campus to a new compound where all the graduate programs of the University will be housed. Arrangements have been made with Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation to complete internet connection as soon as the move to the new building is finalized.

• While the portal was being developed, patient case consultations were conducted through email. A sample of the exchanges which took place between medical practitioners in Addis Ababa and the Diaspora are available on the P2P website.

Suggestions for the way forward

• Strong commitment of partners has been a critical success factor and this needs to be nurtured and harnessed for extended impact. A major factor contributing to the successful implementation of the pilot project is the strong commitment of the partners, particularly at Addis Ababa University, to the implementation of the project. The Activity Agreements were signed in November 2007, and the transferred funds to AAU did not become available to the three departments (neurology, social works, and telemedicine) until April 2008, leaving only two to three months for the implementation of the project. However, due to the effectiveness of the focal persons, the ground work has been done for an efficient virtual linkage of professionals in the Diaspora with their counterparts at AAU.

• Build on the solid foundation to sustain momentum, energy, passion, enthusiasm and drive of partners: The accomplishments under the project have laid the foundation for improved interaction between Diaspora health professionals and their counterparts at home. In order to ensure the sustainability of the work initiated, it is now critical to build on the progress made so far. The infrastructure needed to facilitate various forms of virtual interactions between Diaspora and home professionals are in place, and therefore regular communication should encouraged and deepened through active facilitation of various Diaspora professional networks (both medical as well as non-medical) to meet the needs of participating departments at AAU more effectively.

• Deepen ongoing capacity building efforts at the Neurology, Social Works and Telemedicine departments to take full advantage of the services that professionals in the Diaspora are willing and able to provide. Activities that could be undertaken on continual basis would include joint clinical sessions, teaching, student mentoring and supervision, Tele-consultations and diagnosis; public outreach and continuous medical education, periodic review and improvement of curriculum.

• Respond to requests from other departments and units at the AAU for inclusion in the project to maximize full potentials of the communication infrastructure and related support provided under project. Currently, AAU is in the process of developing Ph.D. programs in the following areas: Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Engineering /Technology, Business and Economics, Social Sciences and Humanities, Arts and Design, and Development Studies. The director for University Reform and Strategic Planning has requested that support be extended to some of these programs in the form of curriculum designs; distance teaching, student mentoring, supervision / co-supervision of Ph.D. dissertations. Furthermore, in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s initiative to extend telemedicine to the regional hospitals, and based on the findings of the regional facility assessment, telemedicine can be introduced by providing internet connection to three of the five hospitals, namely ArbaMinch, Assela, and Yirgalem.

• Consider further financial support to continue project for the next two years to realize the full impact of the pilot engagement process. During a project review meeting with WBI and the Italian representative in July 2008, a decision was made to provide further financial support for continuation of the project. A detailed proposal has been prepared for consideration and approval by the Government of Italy.

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[1]P2P is a Diaspora professional network-based non governmental organization (NGO) operating under IRS code 501 (C) (3); the group was founded in 1999 and licensed in the state of Kentucky, USA as a non-profit organization (NPO). P2P served under agreement as the Ethiopian Diaspora professional network that helped[pic][2]%&(/056:;MNOfghi…†éÚÕÊÆÁ¹Á±©Õ›Õ”?…x…xeWKWhÞ[pic]ÞhÞ[pic]ÞmHnHu[pic]hÞ[pic]ÞhÞ[pic]Þ the Bank to facilitate ongoing service delivery by Ethiopian Diaspora health and education sector professionals in the respective fields.

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This pilot project has been funded under the WBI-Government of Italy Trust Fund Partnership arrangement. For further information, please contact the task manager, Kofi Anani at 202-458-1270 (kanani1@)

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